The Hope was full of activity. Survey crews where working on a location for the colonies first buildings. The ships Geologists where excitedly preparing for there first experience with actual rock. And the ships agro specialists where preparing to layout the first farms. No colonist was without a job. Still, Captain Rickover couldn't help but feel a bit useless. The New Hope no longer required a captain. It had landed and would never fly again. The colonists knew what jobs where required of them. The organizational systems he had put in place where working better than he thought they would. Currently his most important job was to over see colony security. He had of course set up patrols and ordered the security force to protect the colonists from wild animals if there where any. Now, however, he was just left to look over reports whose contents he already knew.

"Sir,"

"Leo I'm your uncle don't call me sir unless we are in a group." Rickover turned to see his nephew standing in the doorway to his office.

"Right anyway, I'd like to talk to you about something. A couple of days ago I detected a signal being transmitted from some old satellites. Mrs. Behm and I have been working on them for a while now. At first we thought they where old communication or weather satellites. But after we analyzed the signal we discovered it was highly encrypted, we can't break it. Also they are being sent to a very specific location. We've only been able to receive the signal as it bounces around towards us. I think we should investigate the location they are being sent too."

"Leo Slow down," Rickover said as he moved to his desk. "Ok now you say you've detected a highly encrypted signal. What makes you think it's worth investigating?"

"Well for one the level of encryption. It's better than any thing we use. Also the satellites sending the information pass directly over the colony. The others that we have detected don't transmit half as much. I know it's not plausible but I think they are sending information about us."

"Do the satellites you are concerned about also pass over the ruins adjacent to us?" Rickover pointed to an aerial photo showing the ruins as well as the New Hope.

"Well yes they do." Leo said after thinking for a moment, "still I think we should investigate." Rickover looked again at the photo as if studying it closely.

"I see. You're right we do need to investigate. There were several things that happened the day we landed here that don't make sense."

"You mean like our landing site changing? Thanks to that I've asked Mrs. Behm to be my mate."

Rickover looked up, "I was wondering when you'd get around to courting her. Looks like you forgot to though. And yes that's one of the things that doesn't make sense. Also a couple of the fighters managed to follow us here, its why we made such a quick landing. But for some reason they where destroyed. I've told people they burned up trying to enter the planets atmosphere but."

"Uncle don't tell me you think they where destroyed because of something on this planet."

"I'm not sure they might have over loaded their engines but I don't want to rule out any thing. If I could get you and Camille a scout craft and clearance from your duties could you two do you're investigation and get me the details?"

"I'm sure we can." Leo said

"Good I'll see to it. Go tell Camille start packing. I'll have a scout ready for by the time you're done." Rickover said as he and Leo left the office.

The Ride out to the signals end destination had been bumpy. Camille looked out through the cockpit and groaned. The light wispy clouds that had greeted them this morning where turning into heavy dark water laden ones.

"I know I've been watching them come in. If you'd like I can throttle back a bit it would smooth things out." Leo said

"No if any thing you should give it more gas I'd like to be on the ground preferably in a building before it starts raining." She put a hand on his leg to let him know she meant it. As Leo thumbed the throttle, she felt the small craft accelerate. They where only a short distance from the signal's focal point. Leo dipped the craft down. As he did Camille got the first good look at where they where headed.

The structure before her was taller than the trees. A large dome sat to the far end over looking the sea. She saw several large tubes hanging out over the forest. as if daring the trees to touch them.

"They sure liked to build big didn't they" Leo leveled the scout in preparation for the aerial photographs. "Those cannons don't look friendly either." The scout bounced harshly. Leo corrected the ship, and flew slowly over the strange structure. Camille looked at the pictures coming from the scout's camera.

"We should make a second pass along its side. I'll set the cameras up for the next shots." Camille said. To her the aerials, although high in resolution, didn't show much. She wanted to be able to show just how big it was, just how tall it was.

The Leo took the scout over the cliffs. Banking to the left as he did so. He finished the turn bringing the scout down to the treetops. Camille looked down where the thing touched the ground.

"It's a vehicle. It has treads. The thing is a monster land crawler. How on earth did they build such a thing? The track carriages alone would need their own assembly plant." Camille said.

"It may have been built in that massive facility sitting on the far end of the ruins. It's about the only thing big enough."

"But why would they make such a large vehicle only to carry just those three cannons? And why would it be out here?"

"It's a giant Lick Whip. This is probably the reason for the transmissions."

"What is a Lick Whip?" Camille asked.

"Oh. It's an LCWP. Back before the consolidation lick whips where used to fight wars. They are basically what you see here but much, much smaller. I don't know why you would build one so large. This thing must have needed a good sized crew." Leo said.

"It is watching us! When we landed those satellites probably started spying on the colony. The whole system is probably running on autopilot." Camille said as she watched the strange vehicle. As the cannons came into view again, she began to worry that it might still be operational.

"I'm going to see if I can land under it. Its big enough, it should have no trouble keeping the rain off us." Leo swung the small craft around to the rear of the massive LCWP. Working carefully he dropped into the gap between the trees and it. When the scout was down, hovering only feet from the ground, he pivoted and moved forward until the small craft was directly under strange vehicle. There was a soft bump as he brought the scout on to the soft ground.

"I'm going to start recording the transmissions now. Hopefully we can get enough to crack the encryption and find out what is being sent." Leo said once the scout was firmly on the ground.

"let's take a look around and figure out where we want to make camp and see if we can figure out how to access this thing." He lifted the cockpits window. He stepped out onto the moist ground and walked over to Camille's side. He held out a hand "Need a lift?"

"Thank you your such a gent."

"Its my pleasure trust me. Watch out the ground is wet." They walked around under the massive hull, hand in hand.

"Our best bet for the camp site is probably over there by that tread. If we set up near the center we should be able to escape the wind and rain." Leo indicated the massive tread nearest to them.

"Do you have any idea how to get at this thing?"

"Not really. That hatch looking thing up there would probably get us in. But I have no idea how to get up there or what we would do to get it open."

"Yeah I thought that might be it. Not that it would do us much good. We would have to know how to use their computers. If we can crack the satellite signals then we could at least see if we could figure out the code. Until then I think we should look for a maintenance panel or some thing like that. Latter we should crawl around and see if we can learn any thing that way."

"Sounds like a plan to me how about if I set up camp and you take a closer look at this thing." Leo started for the cargo hatch of the scout.

"Trying to take all of the hard jobs are we? You don't have to I already like you remember."

"Yeah I know you've spent most of your free time demonstrating that. I'm just trying doing the best I can to show that I like you too." Leo hefted the tent out of the hatch and began haling it over to the tread.

Camille whacked him on the shoulder "Hey I'm not that bad."

Leo watched as Camille walked to the top of the Giant LCWP's dome. He didn't know why, but for some reason she was obsessed with its cannons. He shifted his weight. The thing's back was hot. He could see the distortions in the air. They where screwing with his vision of Camille, causing her to fuzz slightly.

Sighing he went back to work. They had found a row of the maintenance panels they had been looking for. Each panel was accompanied with a huge door. To the best of his knowledge the doors would swing upwards. From the look of them what ever went into the LCWP was circular. Luckily the bolts securing the maintenance panels where slotted. He had spent the last half hour trying to find a panel whose bolts had not become frozen by time. The panel he was currently working on seemed to be cooperating. He had managed to get three bolts loose, and was gingerly working on the last one. The knife he was using wasn't quite the proper size but he found that by levering it just right he was able to work most of the bolts free. Still, it was frustrating work the knife slipped frequently and he had managed to cut himself once already.

He felt the bolt give under his careful pressure. He twisted it free and put it in his pocket. Next he worked the knife under the lip of the cover plate and pried it free.

"Take that you furless wonder," he jumped up in triumph. He looked around for Camille but it appeared that she had disappeared behind the LCWP's dome. He turned back to his work, dancing around the panel three times before leaning in to look at what he had found. It looked like a small keypad and a screen. He was surprised to see that the screen was still in working condition. He looked at screen seeing the strange symbols on it, a small flashing bar sat next to them. He was about to try one of the keys when he remembered the massive doors. It occurred to him that this LCWP might be packing more than the three massive cannons at the dome. He Watched the little bar a bit longer before replacing the panel and all but one of the bolts.

He found Camille sitting on the end of the central cannon. She was looking out at the vast sea beyond the cliffs. He carefully and slowly inched his way up towards her. It wasn't that cannon was too narrow to walk on it was just that the fall was to big to survive.

"Took you a while to get here didn't it?" Camille joked as Leo sat down next to her.

"Easy for you to say. You're probably disappointed that this thing is as wide as it is." Leo pulled her in to him resting his head on hers.

"Well to tell you the truth I didn't exactly dance up here."

"Still it is worth the view," Leo commented. A few of the previous days clouds where still in the air. Now they hung over the horizon. The two watched the waves thundering into the cliffs.

"I managed to get one of the panels open. But I'm not so sure we should be playing with this thing any more. I think it's a bit more than a gun platform," Leo said after a while.

"Yeah I was starting to have my doubts as well. It's just too big. I also think I've found some sort of shield generator like what we used for the Hope."

"If it's all the same to you I think we should concentrate taking photos and cracking those satellite signals. This thing has to many things that can go boom," Leo said as he got up. He tried his best not to think about the height he was at.

"Sounds good to me. I think we've got enough information to justify the trip at any rate." Camille got up and started to lead Leo off the barrel. Leo followed her every move. He didn't know what he had done to win Camille over but he knew she was worth it.